Delhi Education Minister Atishi annouced of the development on X (formerly Twitter). She tweeted, “As pollution levels continue to remain high, primary schools in Delhi will stay closed till 10th November“.
Several schools in Noida have stopped outdoor activity of students, such as morning assemblies or sports activities.Raising concerns over students’ health, some schools have announced that they will switch to online mode of classes.
“We have decided to conduct online classes from tomorrow until the situation improves. Only the class 11, 12 students will be coming tomorrow for exams…” TOI quoted Aditi Basu Roy, principal of a private school in Greater Noida.
The announcement comes as Delhi grapples with record-breaking levels of air pollution.
Earlier, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal had announced a two day closure of schools in Delhi, for November 4 & 5.
ALSO READ: Delhi schools shut as air pollution hits ‘severe’ mark; MCD schools to hold online classes
Scientists have warned that the AQI levels are likely to remain severe till the end of this week.
Falling temperatures, stagnant winds and the surge in post-harvest stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana have contributed to the accumulation of this toxic haze blanketing the region.
TOI on Monday, November 6, reported that the sub-committee of the Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and adjoining areas implemented the Graded Response Action Plan – GRAP Stage IV as Delhi’s AQI touched 454.
ALSO READ: GRAP IV in Delhi: Vehicular Pollution in Focus
The commission said that state governments in NCR would decide on allowing public, municipal and private offices to work on 50% stength and the rest to work from home.
Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director of research and advocacy at the Centre for Science and Environment, was quoted by TOI, saying, “The current smog situation requires the most stringent emergency measures to not add further to the health risk.”
How is the AQI measured?
The Air Quality Index (AQI) is a measure of how clean or polluted the air is. It is calculated using data from air quality monitors that measure the concentration of five major pollutants: ground-level ozone, particle pollution (PM2.5 and PM10), carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide.
The AQI is reported on a scale of 0 to 500. The higher the AQI, the greater the level of air pollution and the greater the health concern
ALSO READ: Delhi schools shut due to worsening AQI: What every student needs to know about Air Quality Index